Means and Method to Protect Items From Contamination

ABSTRACT

A protective sleeve used to cover and isolate tools such as cooking utensils, medical tools, industrial tools and the like from contaminants. The sleeve comprises an interior portion, an exterior portion, and an exterior trim and is comprised of a malleable material so that it may be crimped and secured to the end of any utensil or tool. The sleeve, being malleable, may also be shaped to supplement the utensil or tool. For example, a sleeve over a spatula could be shaped with lipped edges so as to allow the spatula to more easily hold and maneuver foods. An example of a use of the protective sleeve is to protect foods from cross-contamination of harmful bacteria that may be present on raw or undercooked meats.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Human consumption of raw or undercooked meat can cause serious illness.Escherichia coli (E. coli), cholera, intestinal worms, and various formsof food poisoning are just some of the risks. When preparing food, onemust use caution and cleanliness to ensure healthiness.

Meats, red or white, are often cooked over an open flame, such as on agrill. Also, the preparation of meats for cooking often involvesmarinating and seasoning of the meats. Various tools are used toaccomplish these tasks. Spatulas, tongs, elongated forks and similarutensils are used to move the meat from one place to another, such asfrom a bowl or plate onto a grill. A utensil must also be used to rotateand maneuver the meat as it is cooked. During all of these actions,while the meat is still raw or undercooked, the utensils may becomecontaminated with potential bacteria and diseases that may be harmful tohumans. Once the meat is cooked, these same utensils willcross-contaminate the meat when transferring it from the grill to aplate. A solution to this problem would be to continually wash theutensil after every contact with raw or undercooked meat. However, thissolution is cumbersome and results in extra wear and tear on theutensil.

An additional problem that exists, whether using a utensil to moveuncooked food or to manuever or rotate food while it is cooking, is theinability to control the food with the utensil. A spatula may work wellfor some situations, but because of its rigid and flat design it may bedifficult to keep the food from falling when transferring the food to aplate. A surface that may be adapted to fit the situation is needed.

The present invention is a protective sleeve that may be used as a coveron a multitude of cooking utensils. The main purpose of the protectivesleeve is to protect utensils from cross-contamination of harmfulbacteria that may be present on raw or undercooked meats. The presentinvention provides the user with a quick and easy way to cover, use, andremove the sleeve while keeping the cooking utensil clean. Theprotective sleeve may be disposable or washable. By foregoing the needto continually wash the utensil itself after every contact with the rawor undercooked meat, the life of the utensil is prolonged because of thereduction in ordinary wear and tear associated with washing. The presentinvention is also malleable so that it can be used with any utensil tocreate a lipped or contoured surface that allows for easier control andhandling of foods with the utensil.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the invention asdisclosed below is merely illustrative and that there are otherembodiments that are not described herein that still fall within thescope and intent of the present invention. In particular, it will beobvious to one skilled in the art that although the invention asdisclosed herein is used as a cover for various cooking utensils, suchas tongs or a spatula, the invention could also be used in the medicalfield or industrial field as a means of keeping any tool fromcross-contaminating other tools, materials, or people.

It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that theprotective sleeve may be formed of a reusable material, so that afteruse the protective sleeve may be removed and washed prior to the nextuse.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention is a protective sleeve. It comprises of aninterior portion, an exterior portion, and an exterior trim. The sleeveis designed to cover the ends of tools such as cooking utensils, medicaltools, industrial tools and the like. It will be understood, however,that the group of tools for which this invention may be utilized isbroad, and in general includes any tool which is used to manipulate aproduct where there is a desire to avoid contamination of either theproduct itself, the tool, and/or other materials or products. The sleeveis made of a malleable material, such as thin aluminum, so as to allowfor it to be crimped to the shape of a cooking utensil, medical tool,industrial tool or the like. The sleeve protects the utensil or toolfrom contamination, such as when a pair of tongs or spatula comes intocontact with raw or undercooked meats. When such contact occurs, onlythe exterior portion of the sleeve will be potentially contaminated.After use, or when the potential for contamination has passed (i.e. themeat is cooked sufficiently), the sleeve is discarded and the utensilcan be used on the meat without any threat of cross-contamination. Forexample, there is a risk of contaminating meat that has been cooked,such as chicken, with material collected on a utensil used on the meatprior to cooking. By using the present invention during manipulation ofuncooked meat and then disposing of the protective sleeve, contaminationof the final cooked product can be avoided altogether.

The exterior trim on the sleeve helps the sleeve to maintain its shape,especially during packaging and storage (i.e. in a cabinet, drawer,etc.). Because of the low costs of manufacturing and producing of aprotective sleeve, the sleeves may be sold in large quantities and willbe readily affordable and available to all consumers.

The protective sleeve is preferentially made of a malleable material,with the malleable material chosen from a group of readily-available andinexpensive malleable materials, such as aluminum foil. However, it willbe understood by those skilled in the art that other malleablematerials, such as malleable plastics, may be utilized without deviatingfrom the scope and intent of the present invention.

Using a malleable material allows the sleeve to not only take the shapeof the utensil or tool it is protecting, but also to be formed into amore desirable shape for the task at hand. For example, a person oftenuses a spatula to flip and maneuver meats on a grill. When the meats areraw and soft, a person may have difficulty handling the meat with a flatspatula. The malleable sleeve can be adjusted to form a lip or othercontour to allow the spatula to more effectively control and maneuverthe meats on the grill. This concept can be applied to various cookingutensils, medical tools, industrial tools and the like to better performvarious tasks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows two protective sleeves before being placed on the end of apair of cooking tong.

FIG. 2 shows two protective sleeves in accordance with the presentinvention, one crimped onto one end of a tong.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a common spatula to which the presentinvention may be attached.

FIG. 4 shows a protective sleeve in accordance with the presentinvention being placed over the end of a spatula.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1, a protective sleeve comprises a hollow interiorportion 101 that may cover the end of a pair of tongs 104. The interiorportion 101 and exterior portion 102 are comprised of a malleablematerial, such as thin aluminum, so to allow the protective sleeve to becrimped and formed to the shape of a tool, such as a cooking utensil,medical tool, industrial tool or the like. The exterior portion 102 isin contact with contaminates (such as raw or undercooked meats) and thusprotects the utensil or tool from being contaminated. After use, theprotective sleeve is easily removed and another is placed on the utensilor tool when contact with contaminated materials (i.e. raw or undercookmeats) resumes. In this manner, the protective sleeve prevents theutensil or tool from cross-contamination of the food or materials beinghandled (i.e. when the meat has become cooked and free of harmfulsubstances). The protective sleeve further comprises an outer trim 103,which is more rigid and firm than the interior portion 101 and theexterior portion 102, though still malleable, and holds the innerportion 101 and exterior portion 102 together. The outer trim 103 helpsto keep the desired shape of the protective sleeve. The protectivesleeve may be disposable, or may be washable and reusable.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a protective sleeve is shown crimped to onetong on a pair of tongs 104.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the end of a spatula 301 as shown in FIG. 3 isbeing covered by a protective sleeve. The protective sleeve is crimpedto form to the shape of the spatula, so as to allow the spatula tocontinue to function while also keeping the spatula from beingcontaminated by raw or undercooked meats. The arrows 401 in FIG. 4suggest a twisting motion to secure the top of the protective sleeve tothe spatula handle 302. The protective sleeve can also be formed andcontoured, as the task at hand demands, so as to allow for the end ofthe spatula 301 to function more efficiently.

The invention herein has been described in a manner that is illustrativeonly, and it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that there aremodifications and alterations to the present invention that will notdeviate from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed herein.

1. A protective sleeve comprising: a hollow interior portion to encloseand protect the end of a tool; an exterior portion forming to the end ofa tool; and an exterior trim that outlines around the sealed portion ofthe protective sleeve so as to maintain the shape of the sleeve.
 2. Theinvention of claim 1, wherein the said protective sleeve is sealed onthree sides and open on one side, the open side comprising an openingthat will allow the end of a tool to fit inside of the said interiorportion.
 3. The invention of claim 1, wherein the said protective sleeveis comprised of a malleable material, so as to allow the said protectivesleeve to be crimped and formed to the shape of the end of the saidtool.
 4. The invention of claim 1, wherein said tool is selected from agroup comprising cooking utensils, medical tools, and industrial tools.5. The invention of claim 3 wherein said malleable material is aluminum.6. A method of providing a protective covering for tools, said methodcomprising the steps of: selecting a malleable material; and formingsaid malleable material over the working end of a tool.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein said malleable material is disposed of after use. 8.The method of claim 6, wherein said malleable material is selected froma group comprising malleable metals.
 9. The method of claim 6, whereinsaid malleable material is selected from a group comprising malleableplastics.
 10. The method of claim 6, wherein said tool is selected froma group comprising cooking utensils, medical tools, and industrialtools.
 11. A method of providing a protective covering for tools, saidmethod comprising the steps of: selecting a malleable material from agroup comprising malleable metals; selecting a tool from the groupcomprising cooking utensils, medical tools, and industrial tools; andforming said malleable material over the working end of said selectedtool.